The legends (from left to right):
Leah, Tracy, Elise, Jackie
* * * * *
Folklore Materials
Jackie Faine
Archive Collection
Legends- Herman B. Wells Library
Text #1: Got That Sinking Feeling
(The following was an interview with Jennifer Landing in 1996, by Julie Smith)
JS: Ok Jennifer, do you go to the library often?
JL: Yeah I’m in there a lot, mostly because I feel like I can’t get the quiet time I need. Whenever it’s loud in my room I head over there and stay until my stuff gets done.
JS: Do you usually do your homework quietly, or do you socialize?
JL: {Leaning back in her chair} Well a lot of the time I go there to study and finish paperwork, but yes, there have been times where I’ve talked to people even if I hadn’t met them before. It’s great to have somewhere to go that’s quiet and convenient, but for some reason the library has become a sort of social place, too.
JS: What is the biggest rumor you have heard about the library, either from friends or people you have met there?
JL: Hmmm… oh well, yeah, here’s a huge one; the story about the library sinking. I heard it was dedicated in the late 60s; can’t remember the exact date. But anyhow, supposedly the architects who built it didn’t configure the number of books which would be inside. Right now there’s supposed to be over two million books inside. When more and more books were put inside, combined with all of the students and teachers who come in everyday, the place started to sink. {smiling}
JS: Can you tell it’s sinking into the ground?
JL: Well no, obviously I can’t tell {laughs}. Most people wouldn’t have even thought about if it wasn’t for the rumor. It’s not like half of the windows are below ground or one side of the building is higher than the other. I have no idea how it even got started, to be honest, but I’m beginning to think it’s either an urban legend or some scientists examined the building and figured it out that way.
JL: {Looking perplexed} Come to think of it, I can’t even remember how I heard this story. Maybe it’s not true at all, but it’s definitely something the older students pass onto the freshman to keep it alive.
Context:
Who created/performed the
text- Jennifer Landing and Julie Smith, juniors
Members of the audience- only the two girls, Smith recorded the conversation
Location/timing- Herman B. Wells library, fall semester 1996
Contributor: Jackie Faine
Informant(s): Julie Smith, Jennifer Landing
Semester/Year: Fall, 1996
Text #2: More Than Reading in the Stacks?
(The following was taken from parts of an interview between Jonathan Rewe and Kathy Lewis in 1993)
JR: … I was sitting in class yesterday when I heard another guy talking about what his friend had done last night. I couldn’t believe this guy was talking so loud!
KL: {Curious smile across her face} What did he say?
JR: This guy said his friend had bragged about having sex with his girlfriend in the library. {smiling}
KL: Where did it happen in the library?
JR: I can’t believe this guy was boasting so loudly. He said this guy and his girlfriend went up to the 9th floor since hardly anyone ever goes up that high, and it just happened. I guess they weren’t planning on it, but it seems like they did. Seriously though, who walks into the stacks thinking, “This would be a perfect spot.”
KL: {Astonished} How did he get away with that?
JR: I don’t know, apparently they were sneaky. They checked out the floor first and then had sex. They didn’t do it to be romantic, but obviously because it was something to brag about.
KL: What else did he say?
JR: He didn’t get into details, just talked about some of the things his buddy had told him. I guess they just wanted to be able to say they did it, and to prove that it wasn’t just some urban legend. I don’t know how many kids do it; they’ve got to be incredibly sneaky to pull that deal off without a hitch.
KL: {Laughing} Well, it apparently actually happens on campus! {Suddenly startled} I wonder if any of my friends have!
Context:
Who created/performed the
text- senior Jonathan Rewe and sophomore Kathy Lewis
Members of the audience- Just Rewe and Lewis, Rewe recorded the conversation
Location/timing- Wright food court, spring semester 1993
Contributor: Jackie Faine
Informant(s): Jonathan Rewe, Kathy Lewis
Semester/Year: Spring, 1993
Text #3: 11th Floor Fear?
(The following was taken from part of a speech by David O’Rourke)
It has occurred to me that none of my friends have ever been to the eleventh floor of the main library on campus. It had never occurred to me that there could be a reason for this, so I began researching this topic. I began asking friends why they had never gone up there. The most common response was because they had no academic reason to visit the top-most level of the stacks, but then a few told me it was because they heard it was haunted.
So I did what any curious person would do; I went to the eleventh floor. The first weird thing I noticed was that the elevator in the library only goes up to the tenth floor. So I inquired whether the eleventh floor was added many years after the library was initially built. Unfortunately, none of the librarians had answers for me.
I stopped at the tenth floor and then needed to take the stairwell up to the last level. Getting up there felt eerie- dead silent. I began walking around and it was creepy. I felt a strange sense of paranoia around me as I continued to walk through the mounds of books I passed.
Friends of mine have said they heard stories of ghosts on the eleventh floor, but nothing I have heard has been confirmed as fact or fiction. … anyhow, I think it’s cool to just let rumors stay alive by repeating them. Not everything needs to have an answer to be believed in.
Context:
Who created/performed the
text- freshman David O’Rourke
Members of the audience- students in his folklore class
Location/timing- folklore class, fall semester 1996
Contributor: Jackie
Faine
Informant(s): David O’Rourke
Semester/Year: Fall, 1996
_______________________________________________________
TEXT 1: The first text is about a cemetery in Central Indiana. Lee says “Well
there’s a cemetery and a down toward Bedford that is famous for logger stone
and this logger stone is about a guy that a, was a logger and he was killed by
a violent death, by a logging stone, and every year around Halloween another
chain link appears on his tomb-stone and it is in the shape of a cross wrapped
around his tombstone, and like I said every year another link appears. It’s
not painted on; it’s not etched in there. Don’t know how it appears, but it
does appear and after it gets so long then the next year after it shortens by
one link and there’s no explanation for it. People have taken pictures and
everything, you know the links appear, but they never go away for the whole
year till after Halloween has passed.”
Context: The informants name is Lelann Aubin and he has lived in Central
Indiana all his life. This interview was conducted outside on a starry night.
It was tape recorded and there was one other person present during the
interview besides the collector. Lee is very effective when he tells the story
and he really enjoys scaring people. Lee, at the time of the interview, is 21
and male. He comes from a big family and is the brother of the collector.
Source: Lorne Aubin
#l2
Legends
2nd/1983
Elise Withered
Text 2: The
second text is about Stepps cemetery. Sandy says “Ok, ah the house we
live in is five miles north of Lake Lemon. Its right under the well we’re
connected to the State Forest line and our house is under where Stepps
Cemetery
is. Maybe not right underneath but close and we have always heard legends how
Stepps Cemetery came to be one of them was there was a lady and her husband
and
daughter lived in this house where Stepps Cemetery is now and when the state
came in to build the cemetery where her house was they wanted to tear her
house
down and she wouldn’t let them. Her and her husband fought it all the way.
Somebody came in and set her house on fire. She got out alive and she tried
to
get her baby and husband out. Well it burnt her arm off and left her, you
know,
a hook for an arm. Ok…every since then her house burnt down she quit fighting
it because she lost her husband and daughter and they built a cemetery there
well one of the grave sites, one is for her husband and one is for her
daughter. Well her husband was supposedly reincarnated and aw into a collie
dog and there was a tree that was carved out as a chair over her daughters
grave and she would set at night and listen to her baby cry and her husband
the
dog would set there and howl… supposedly if you there at after midnight you
can
hear her setting there, you know in her black cape. That’s why they call her
the lady in black and she sets there and runs everybody off that steps foot on
her property.”
Context: Sandy Greesby has lived in Central Indiana all her life and now
lives near Stepps Cemetery. This interview was conducted in the informant’s
house and was tape recorded. The informant is female and is 22. Sandy comes
from a large family and her highest level of education is high school. She
heard most of her stories from her sister who used to tell scary stories to
scare her to death. The informant now tells scary stories to try to make
everyone believe them.
Source: Lorne Aubin
Legends
2nd/1983
Elise Withered
Text 3: The third text is about Stepps Cemetery also, but it was
collected from a
different informant. Larry says “Aw, there is a cemetery called Stepps
Cemetery in Morgan Monroe State Forest which is famous for a for a lady who
goes around looking for her child and the story is when they decided to turn
that area of Monroe, Morgan County National Park they had to move a lady out
of
the area which she didn’t want to go so they put…threaten to burn her out and
when they set her house on fire she had to go back inside for the child… and
when she went back for the child she was burned to death inside, so now people
say that you can hear the child crying in the woods and that the old lady is
looking for her, her child and all of a sudden you will hear a rocking chair
rocking back and forth and the baby will be quiet. People say as you walk
around the cemetery you can hear such things as this.”
Context: At the time of the interview Larry Williams is 18 and male.
The informant Larry has lived in Central Indiana all his life, so he has heard
many legends of the area. This interview was conducted outside on a starry
night and was tape recorded. One other person was present at the time of the
interview besides the collector. He heard this story and many others on a
Halloween hay ride to Stepps Cemetery.
Source: Lorne Aubin
Legends
2nd/1983
Elise Withered
Tracy's archived campus legends:
Text 1
Original Collector: Colleen McPhearson
Title: Jokes
Class: F220
Semester/year: Semester II, 83-84
Contributor: Tracy John
“The Gazebo”
“Uh, this is what I heard…. Well, I think it was when the gazebo was built, but that doesn’t really matter. They say before a girl can become officially co-ed of this campus, she has to kiss a guy in the gazebo at midnight through the twelve strokes of the bells or whatever that clock’s called there.”
Context:
The interview with Jeffery Milan was done by Colleen McPhearson while preparing a “pit board” for the Little 5 Race. She asked the informant about stories he knew connected with campus landmarks and he told the story of the gazebo and the Showalter Fountain. The interview took place in the informant’s home between 10:30-11:30pm at 703 Gourley Pike in Bloomington, Indiana. Jeffery was asked how the legend came about and what it meant to him. He thinks the story came about when the gazebo was built. He feels it gives the campus its unique identity and also aids the students in becoming involved in campus life. He claims to have taken part in this activity himself over his college years. When asked what would happen to a girl who didn’t do it he responded, “It’s not mandatory if a girl does it or not or even if a boy participates but it’s really neat because the people who do it seem to be more a part of IU. I think it makes people remember IU in a sentimental way.” To him this is a practice that gives you something to remember from your college years as well as something to pass on to others as being the thing to do if you a part of this campus.
The other story told by Jeffery was about Showalter Fountain also located on the IU Bloomington campus. After telling the story about the Gazebo it brought this story to his mind.
Text 2
“The Showalter Fountain”
“I’ve got another one about the co-eds. Let me see if I can get the story right—uh, let me think…Okay—when the day comes when the first co-ed virgin graduates from this school, the fish will swim out between the legs of the lady in the fountain. How’s that one, huh? Meaning no virgin has graduated from this university, so the legend goes.”
Context:
This legend is collected by Colleen at Jeffery’s house between 10:30-11:30pm while preparing the “pit board” for the Little 5 Race. The informant was not sure where he heard the tale, adding that he has told it and has been told the story by others several times. He hypothesized about the origin of the tale in the following manner: “Oh some frats and sororities got together for a drunken good time, and some frat guy said this, “No sorority bitches are virgins, and that’s why they thought of it.” What is interesting about this comment is not only does the informant believe the part of the legend about girls not graduating from college as virgins, but a sorority girl most definitely wouldn’t. This is where the stereotypes of college girls come in about promiscuity. Also he mentioned that this story came about through drinking another description associated with student life and sex. IU is considered a Big Ten party school, a place where students drink to excess and female students are promiscuous.
Text 3
Original Collector: Susan Johnson
Title: Legends/Personal Experiences
Class: N/A
Semester/year: NA, 83
Contributor: Tracy John
The next legend collected is also done here on campus but it is a little different type of legend that is told to students here on IU campus. This legend is associated with the Kappa Sigma Fraternity house and told by an anonymous submitter.
“The Story of Michael Pfang”
“Back in the mid-60s, a pledge from the house had his head blown off by a cannon during an IU homecoming parade with the theme of “Gun down the Hawks of Iowa.” The name of the guy was Michael Pfang and when anything weird happens in the house we know that is was him. Some of the guys claim they have saw him walking around or knocking things over in the house. One time when I was asleep I felt something in my room and woke up and thought I saw an image of a man that fit the description of Michael. I am not sure to this day what I saw but I think it was Michael. When I mentioned it to other guys in the house they assured me it was him because they have seen him too.”
Context:
The context here involves the house itself. All the strange happenings take place here. The guys talk about not wanting to be in the house by themselves when everyone else is gone because the house is kind of eerie. Person 1 said this story is usually told to the newcomers to entertain and scare them at the same time. They use the story to play pranks regardless if they think it is real or not or if they think Michael will get mad. This interview takes place between Cathy Rosemeyer who is the collector and a 21 year old male student who wouldn’t give his name. Cathy approaches Person 1 and tells him she is doing a paper for her class about the house. Although he no longer lives there he still remembers the encounters he had at the Kappa Sigma House. The information was collected February 25, 1976 at 625 North Jordan in Bloomington Indiana in the living room.
______________________________________________________
Current Campus Legends (2005):
Text 1
Contributor: Leah Lattanner
Informant: Brittany Mehl
Title: “Legends”
Fall 2005
I interviewed several girls and boys collecting different legends around campus. I collected this legend in my dorm room in Foster- Magee, with a few girls sitting around talking about different random things at about 9 o’clock at night. Brittany Mehl comes from a family of five, with two older sisters. Brittany lives in Erie, Pennsylvania. She is a freshman student here at Indiana University and lives down the hall from me. The legend she heard was about the doctor who lived on North Jordan, who gave abortions illegally to girls. She had heard this legend about the first month of school at a fraternity party.
LL: Have you heard of any legends that have to do with the dormitories, surrounding haunted houses or any other legends having to do with campus?
BM: If you walk up on North Jordan at night, people say you can hear babies crying form an old house. I guess a doctor lived there a while ago and would give college girls abortions before they were legal. He would then put the remains into the walls so he wouldn’t get caught. Now the house is haunted with the babies. You can gear them cry only at night.
LL: Do you believe this to be true?
BM: I do, because I have talked to people who have been by the house and heard babies crying.
LL: Do you know where the house is located?
BM: Somewhere on North Jordan, I believe the Phi Tau Fraternity used to live there.
This legend has been told for years at Indiana University, though no one really knows if this it a true legend. When Brittany told me this legend she seemed convinced this was an actual encounter. The legend Brittany told was about how people are scared walking to the fraternity houses to attend a party. This simply warns people to beware of walking at night on North Jordan along with the horror of abortions. The mystery of the legend is that people do not know that actual house, so people are just frightened when walking on North Jordan.
Text 2
Contributor: Leah Lattanner
Informant: Ava
Title: “Ghost Legends”
Fall 2005
After the Brittany was finished telling the legend she had heard the first month of school, Ava stated that she had heard the same legend but with a different ending. Ava is from South Bend, Indiana. She comes from a strong Catholic family of seven. She was with the people in my room telling different legends. She heard this legend from her older sibling who attended Indiana University a few years ago. The legend was similar to the doctor giving girls abortions; however, the doctor committed suicide in the home so he would not get into trouble with the police.
LL: Have you heard any legends that have to do with the dormitories, surrounding haunted houses or anything on campus?
A: I was told by my older brother about the house that gave abortions to young college students. The doctor did not know what to do with aborted bodies so he would place them in the floors and walls of the house. After a few years, the police had been to his house a few times asking many questions. One day after giving an abortion, he took his own life in front of a young girl. Now supposedly, you can hear babies crying some nights but others you can here the doctor screaming and yelling.
LL: Do you believe this to be a true legend?
A: I am not too sure, it is a hard story to believe but people say they have heard babies crying and a man screaming.
Different variations of legends are very common even all the way across the world. A person comparing these two legends can see the similarities and differences between them; this is what makes legends exciting. Not one story is proven to be correct and the other not. Ava and Brittany have the same continuity with the two legends but have different parts that make the two variations interesting. Another appealing part of legends is fact people will swear by their version of the story but there is really no proof, only, “my friend told me this really happened to them.”
Text 3
Contributor: Leah Lattanner
Informant: Eric Matthews
Title: “Dorm Legends”
Fall 2005
The last person I interviewed was a senior here at Indiana University, named Eric Mathews. He is also from Indianapolis, Indiana; his legend comes from his freshman year. He is majoring in management and entrepreneurship. The legend is of a man who used to get onto the floors of dormitories and somehow get into girls’ rooms. He would just watch girls sleep but not hurt them at all.
LL: Have you heard any legends that have to do with the dormitories, surrounding haunted houses or anything on campus?
EM: so the story was that my freshmen year there was some kid who broke into girls floors at night and just walked around until he found an open room and would walk in late and night and just watch girls sleeping... he didnt do anything to them.... when they woke up he would just run out... fucking creepy... but there were stories about him in the IDS and they just said girls need to start locking their doors... not sure how many times it happened but it was more than once
Legends heard in college dormitories have a sense of purpose for being told.
Students may tell legends to be included in new situations. Majority of the time legends are not old in the way they were first heard. But are made up with their own twist or variation to make their audience believe the legends. The legends are told to simply scare people of suspicious events happening in their room or close to their surroundings.
Text 4
Leah Lattanner
Molly Applebaum
“Campus Legends”
Fall 2005
Another legend a girl told was about the people on campus. She was also involved with sitting in my dorm discussing different legends on campus. A girl earlier in the year had been hit by a bus on campus. The legend went around stating that if someone is hit by a bus they will receive their tuition paid for. Molly Applebaum is from the Chicago area. Molly is a freshman at Indiana University, and is studying to be a film maker. She comes from a family of five.
LL: Have you heard any legends that have to do with the dormitories, surrounding haunted houses or anything on campus?
MB: um..well, I heard that if you get hit by a bus then you get your tuition paid for
LL: Do you believe this to be true:
MB: Yes, because if you get hit by a bus then you would probably sue the school and that would be more that tuition.
The legend of people
having their education paid for is not a surprising legend. The cost of
attending college is a huge expense and for a lot of students this money is
coming out of their own pocket. Students are not looking to find a reason for
the university to pay for their education, the legend serves as the positive
of a horrible situation. Along with the other legends, this one is not proven
or has any convincing evidence that would make it true. People talk about this
legend around campus as if it is true, then retell the legend in a more
believable way.
______________________________________________________________
Text 1
Contributor: Elise Withered
Informant: Lauren Poland
Tag: Avon, IN Bridge
Semester/Year: Fall/2005
“In Avon Indiana there is a bridge that is said to be haunted. It happened about 60 years ago on a cold dark and rainy Halloween night a mother and her infant son decided to go trick or treating. But because they were poor they were unable to drive a car into to town. The family lived in a dark alley and therefore for them to get into the neighborhood to trick or treat they would have to walk on the railroad tracks. The family decided to start their night early because it would be a long walk. The mother had not had time to feed her infant before they left. So during the walk the infant began to cry very very loud. The mother while trying to comfort her son while walking on the track got her shoelace stuck in the track. As she bent down and tried to free her shoe she was unable to have…hear the sound of the roaring train over the load screams of her baby and thunderstorm. The mother and baby were both flattened by the train. And now they say that when you go to the bridge on Halloween night you can still hear that baby crying.”
Context:
The informant’s name is Lauren Poland and she has lived in Central Indiana for most of her life. The interview was conducted in the informants’ room on a cold wintry night and was tape recorded. Lauren is a freshman at Indiana University and is originally from Avon Indiana. Lauren is 19 and female. This legend has been passed down from generation to generation and was originally told to her by her Grandfather.
Text 2
Contributor: Elise Withered
Informant: Joe Mclaughlin
Tag: Dillsboro, IN Cemetery
Semester/Year: Fall/2005
“There is a story about an angel in the Dillsboro Cemetery. The story is told that a young man named Phillip goes off to WWII. Jen the love of his life begs him not to go but they knew he had to. Before he left they got married which was something they both wanted to do. Everyday while in Europe, Phillip would write Jen and tell her how much he loved her. As the war was ending Jen would look out the window everyday to see if Phillip had come back. One day while she was looking out the window and she saw an army truck. The two men in uniform knocked on the door and she was so sure it was going to be him because he had promised to come back to her. To her surprise neither of the two men were Phillip. They told her that he died saving a family. The two men gave her an army flag folded and she fell down in tears. She would not give up on her love Phillip and never tried to find someone else. She died of heartbreak and was then buried at the Dillsboro Cemetery. Some say that her gravestone cries, because she is still waiting for her love Phillip to come back.”
Context:
The informant’s name is Joe Mclaughlin and he is originally from the Philippines. He moved to the states when he was 6 and now lives in Aurora, Indiana. (The town next to Dillsboro) The interview was conducted in my dorm room and was tape recorded. Joe is currently a freshman at Indiana University. He heard this legend from a friend when they drove by the cemetery.
Text 3
Contributor: Elise Withered
Informant: Brittany Kepler
Tag: Edna
Semester/Year: Fall/2005
“There was once this little girl named Edna who was walking back from school. And each day on her walk home she would pass the cemetery and see its beautiful flowers on the graves. On the day of the tragic accident Edna decided she wanted to go back, take some flowers to her mother. Edna was much too young to realize the significance of the flowers. So after she had taken the flowers she was about to cross the road and she didn’t bother to look both ways before she crossed. So when she was almost halfway across the road she was struck by an oncoming car. The driver got out to check on the person they had hit. As soon as the driver reached Edna she let out a blood curdling scream. The driver realized she had hit her own daughter. Some say the accident was caused by the dead so they could get their revenge. Others say that if you drive by the cemetery on the eve of Edna’s death you can still hear her mother screaming.”
Context:
The third informants name is Brittany Kepler and she has lived in Central Indiana her whole life. The interview was conducted in the lounge of our dorm at night. She is currently a freshman at Indiana University and is originally from Avon, Indiana. The story was told to her by a friend’s father at a sleepover.
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Conversation 1:
“The Chapel”
Tracy: “Hey guys, have any of you heard any IU campus legends?”
Suzanne: “Um, yeah I’ve heard some but I can’t think of any right now”.
Mike: “There is one about the heating ducts that are underground. You can get to any part of campus in matter of seconds by walking underground in the man holes.”
Tracy: “I’ve never heard that one before, how do you know that?”
Mike: “I’ve heard it from some friends that when IU was built they made it so that getting to campus underground was shorter than walking it. This made it easy for them to get the installing of everything done quicker. I am not sure this is a legend though because it is true.”
Suzanne: “Yeah it is true, I’ve heard that before.”
Tracy: “How can you be so sure?”
Mike: “After we told one of my friends about it he went and found one of the construction sites on campus and crawled into one of the holes and found that it was a lot quicker getting to the different parts of campus underground. When he came back he had a burn scar to prove it. It wasn’t there before and some of my other friends waited until he was done.”
Ryan: “Oh!! Yeah!! I know one!! What about the chapel next to the Union?
Tracy: “What about it?”
Ryan: “Well the story that I heard is a person has to kiss his/her true love or the person they want to marry in the chapel at the twelve strokes of midnight in order for the dream to come true. It is really stupid and it doesn’t work.”
Tracy: “Why did you say it didn’t work?”
Ryan: “Well on Valentine’s Day of last year (2004), almost two years ago now, my ex-girlfriend took me out there as Valentine’s Day was coming to an end and told me the story. I then did what she said and like I said before it doesn’t work. As you notice I keep saying she’s my ex.”
Tracy: “Had you heard the story before?”
Ryan: “No, I don’t even go to IU but she heard the story from some of her friends and told me we had to do it, so I did.”
Tracy: “What year was she? Was she a freshman?”
Ryan: “No she was a junior.”
The conversations that took place were done in a work setting at a bank. We are normally busy so I had to sneak the conversation while everyone was standing around not doing much of anything. Suzanne, Mike and myself are all IU students, while Ryan is not but stories about the IU campus were still passed along to him through his girlfriend who was a student here. The conversation took place in the morning around 10:00 on Monday the 23rd at Monroe Bank on Kinsey Pike. When I asked if they had heard any IU legends, it struck up a conversation fast especially when one person started telling the stories they knew. I found the story I was looking for, the one about the chapel and one that I had never heard before the one about the heating ducts. Ryan actually performed one of the legends and states that it is not true because his relationship with that girl is over. He kept saying that it wasn’t true like it was a waste of his time. He has become a part of IU history although he is not a student here. With Mike and his friends I just think it was something crazy they decided to in order to bring some fun to their lives as students and now one of the guys even has a scar to connect him to his story and every time he tells it he will show the scar that proves his bravery or stupidity along with his curiosity.
Conversation 2:
“The Showalter Fountain”
Tracy: “I need to find some legends about this campus.”
Tanya: “Tell about the legend of the mermaid in the fountain. You’ve heard the story right?”
Tracy: Um, refresh my memory.”
Tanya: “My friend told me this my freshman year here. She was a sophomore when she told me. She said that if someone graduates from IU a virgin the fish will swim around the pond. Of course that is never going to happen.”
Tracy: “You mean someone graduating a virgin.”
Tanya: (laughing) “No the fish swimming around the pond but it is a cute story.”
Tracy: “Where did your friend hear the story from?”
Tanya: “When she came here as a freshman it was told to her at one of the orientations.”
Tracy: “Was it told by another student?”
Tanya: “I don’t know, she just said it was on one of the tours.”
Tracy: “Have you told other people about the story?”
Tanya: “Actually I have, when I tell I say stay a virgin to see the fish swim. I even told my mother when she came down to visit. She thought it was funny.”
Tracy: “What do you think the story about the fish mean?”
Tanya: “I think it means that people come to college as virgins but don’t leave that way. A lot of things happen here that you can’t get away with at home and people like to experiment. Most people I know that come to college do end up losing their virginity because they think they find that special someone or their feel they are ready. But I am sure that there are people that have graduated this college a virgin but we don’t talk about them. If we do the statue will no longer be exciting and will have no story behind it that makes it such an interesting piece of campus.”
Context: This legend takes place as Tanya and I are on our way to class in Woodburn Hall that is located steps away from the fountain. This is what I think made her think of this legend. It was around 3:30 on Wednesday the 28th. The story of the fountain was told to her when she was a freshman and her friend as well. I was told the story when I was a freshman too. This legend seems to be told mainly to freshman I think so that all while you are in college you will think if I want to see the fish swim I have to stay a virgin at least until after I graduate. It almost seems like it's told as a challenge to see if someone can achieve it. According to those who tell it, no one has graduated a virgin because the legend still goes on to say if a virgin graduates. Tanya thinks that the people who tell the story to freshman know that they get to experience a lot of new things away from the covering of their parents. It is like living in world of no rules and you pretty much run the show. A lot of people come here as virgins but don’t leave that way is what Tanya thinks the legend means when it is told. She says that there are people that graduate virgins but they are not talked about because then the legend will not have any standing and it will make the fish just another statue that no one will pay attention to.
Conversation 3:
Another story about the Showalter Fountain is told in this way. This setting also takes place at my job on the same day (Wednesday the 28th) at around 5:30 when I asked had anybody heard the story of the fountain.
“The Showalter Fountain”
Tracy: “Has anybody heard the legend about a virgin graduating and the fish in the fountain swimming around?
Mike: “No, but I have heard about it being more than the four that is around the fountain and one was stolen?
Tracy: “Tell me a little bit about it. I’ve never heard this one.”
Mike: “Well you know about the basketball coach Bobby Knight and him getting fired? It was said when he left one or some of the students got so mad they came and stole one of the fish in his honor. So it used to be five fish and now it is four. It was kind of like a riot type of thing. Someone wants to get back at someone else for taking away something important to them, in this case Bobby as coach so someone else takes something of importance from someone else, the fish.”
Tracy: “Where and when did you hear this story?”
Mike: “It was probably a couple of weeks after Bobby got fired.”
Tracy: “Do you know the person that stole it?”
Mike: “No, I’ve heard no one ever found out who did it but they are sure that one is missing, but that is all I know about the fountain.”
Context: Mike stated that the fish was taken in honor of Bobby Knight. This almost makes it seem like they redeemed him by taking something that they knew would get them in trouble if they ever got caught. It would be worth it though because they did something to bring back honor to the coach that was fired. This legend also brings excitement to the statue, just in a different way. Now when I go by the statue I find myself counting the fish to see if it is only four instead of five. I would have never done that before if I wasn’t told the story. Before I just looked at the statue and wondered if you would move even though I know that it wouldn’t but what if it did. Now I look and wonder if a fish really was stolen. Now you have different things to look at and you have different perspectives about what will or did happen. This is what makes legends so interesting: they give you something to think about.
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Today, people in my classes were talking about a ghost that haunts the Career Development Center. They were saying that if you basement late night you can hear him moving around upstairs. Another student then said there is a ghost that haunts the Sigma Epsilon House on campus. He said that during the 80’s there was a boy whose head was blown off by a cannon during the Homecoming parade. I have heard a similar story in the past but I thought it was interesting how he told the story. He paused on several parts as if he was trying to recollect the exact details and he also emphasized certain words to make the story more interesting.
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In late August I was contacted by a reporter with a query about this campus legend:
“I am a reporter with the IDS and am working on a story about the tree that the chemistry annex building was built around. I had heard stories that the tree could not be cut down because the man who donated the land to IU did so on the condition that the tree would never be cut down because he had inscribed a message to his wife in its bark.”
Is it true? I wonder if
there are parallels in Simon Bronner’s book about university students’
folklore, Piled Higher and Deeper.
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Title #1: A Hot Topic in the Stacks
(I
interviewed my friend Lisa Teller, a sophomore,
about sex in the stacks)
JF: Lisa, about how often would you say you go to the library?
LT: Hmmm… {eyes look about the room} I guess you could say about two, maybe three times a week, I think.
JF: Is it always to study?
LT: Yes, pretty much. Well I’m a business student, so sometimes I need to meet with other kids to work on group projects or stuff of that nature. But, um, I’d have to say that a lot of the time I like to come here late in the day when it quiets down. That way I get most of my stuff finished, and I’m actually really productive when I have nothing to do but sit still and work {laughs}.
JF: What, in your opinion, is the best or craziest story you’ve heard about this place?
LT: {Grinning widely} …haha, come on. Do I actually need to say it?
JF: I’m writing, so go for it.
LT: It’s definitely the stuff about sex in the library.
JF: Have you witnessed anything interesting first-hand?
LT: Oh no, and I actually don’t think I ever want to! That’s so risky, oh man, I think I’d just die if I got caught. How embarrassing!
JF: When did you hear this legend, and why do you think it’s been so popular for so long?
LT: {With a puzzled look} Well, I think during summer orientation
I heard something while being given a tour. I was kinda surprised back then,
but now it comes as no surprise given how crazy some people can be. Clearly
it’s still so intriguing because everyone wants to believe it really does
happen a lot. It adds a certain culture and mysterious tradition to campus-
like something more than just reading goes on inside these walls! {laughs}
Context:
Contributor: Jackie Faine
Informant(s): Lisa Teller
Members of the Audience: Lisa and myself
Semester/Year: Fall 2005
Location: Herman B. Wells library, next to the café on the first floor
Title: A Hot Topic in the Stacks
Title #2: Just Beyond the Elevator
(The following was an interview I conducted with my friend Ray Friedman, a senior)
JF: Ray, I have been asking my friends about funny or weird legends about the library. However, I wanted to know if you’ve heard about anything scary or paranormal.
RF: Um, well I gotta think {pause for a few seconds, stretched in his seat}
Well the only thing that I can really think of at the moment is stuff about the eleventh floor and how nobody wants to go up there
JF: Well I had to go up there once to find a book for my journalism class and it wasn’t so bad, just really quiet.
RF: Yeah, that’s primarily what I’ve heard.
JF: But what is scary about it, in your opinion?
RF: Just that the elevator stops at the tenth floor, so it’s kinda creepy that if you need to go up there for any reason, you’ll need to walk in the stairwell alone. Then once you get up there, it’s like a pin could drop twenty feet away and you would notice it. That feeling makes me cringe.
JF: Why?
RF: ‘Cause the side of me that loves horror movies is waiting for some crazy person to jump out around the corner. It just feels like a natural reaction to be weirded out at the complete silence up there. Like if my shoes squeak as I pass through the stacks, it is literally the only sound I’ll hear.
JF: Do you think this legend is popular for